Why a Human Touch Always Beats AI When Redesigning Your Website
Tomorrow marks a big day for Stratum Marquetry: our freshly reimagined website goes live! After years of painstaking self‑design on Squarespace—tweaking layouts, updating copy, wrestling with menus, and trying to translate our passion for modern marquetry into a clickable interface—we finally called in reinforcements. Enter Sam at Rotary Studio, whose keen eye and design expertise have transformed our site from “good” to greatly simplified and strikingly on‑brand.
The Limits of DIY (and of AI Prompts)
As a dyslexic maker, I’ve always taken pride in rolling up my sleeves and building our site by hand. Over time, it worked… sort of. But when you have a dozen signature marquetry styles—each crafted around specific reclaimed and recycled woods sourced through our local circular network—the permutations of “product + pattern + material” get dizzying.
Customisable complexity: How do you present fifteen base styles, each in half‑dozen finishes, across multiple product types?
Communication clarity: How do you distill the story of “why reclaimed materials matter” into a two‑sentence website blurb?
AI can spit out a layout or mock up a hero image in seconds—but only if you already know exactly which patterns go where, which fonts pair best, and what hex codes capture your brand’s warmth. For many of us, that’s precisely where we hit a wall.
The Power of Conversation
What I needed was someone to listen. Someone to ask open‑ended questions:
“What makes your signature ‘Sandwich’ style special?”
“If you could only show three finished projects on the homepage, which would you pick?”
These are the kinds of prompts a designer like Sam at Rotary Studio naturally brings to the table. Having an actual conversation—rather than typing a final brief into a command line—uncovered insights I hadn’t even named yet.
Sam’s Magic: From Wireframe to Wow
Over the past few weeks, Sam has:
Built our Signature Styles page
Clear descriptions of each modern marquetry design, tied to the exact reclaimed or recycled material it uses.
Visual cues showing how “Strata” differs from “Sandwich” so you instantly grasp the aesthetic before scrolling further.
Reimagined every product page
Informative, digestible layouts that invite exploration rather than overwhelm.
New line‑drawing illustrations (by Sam) that echo our artisanal process without slowing page‑loads.
Simplified navigation
A crisp, top‑bar menu that separates “Signature Ranges,” “Interior Projects,” “Courses,” and “Company”—making it impossible to get lost.
Created cohesive branding
A fresh palette of accents and modern fonts that nod to our sustainability ethos.
Refined colour blocks, button styles, and typography scales for a unified, polished feel.
Each solution emerged not from an AI prompt, but from iterative chats, sketches on Zoom, and quick feedback loops. Sam’s design mind saw connections I’d never have coded alone.
When AI Works—and When It Doesn’t
There’s no doubt AI has its place—automated image resizing, copy suggestions, even prototype generation. But it's only as smart as the brief you feed it, and crucially, it can’t read your brand values or feel your passion. It can’t notice when a button feels just slightly too small for accessibility, or nudge you away from a trendy font that undermines readability for dyslexic readers like me.
Why You Should Invest in a Human Designer
Empathy and intuition: Human designers understand how people think, click, and feel—often without explicit instructions.
Creative problem‑solving: They bring fresh perspectives and adaptive thinking, not just fixed rules.
Collaborative iteration: A two‑way dialogue uncovers ideas that wouldn’t exist in a single AI prompt.
Working with Sam has not only saved me time and headaches; it’s elevated our brand story and deepened our connection with you, the visitor.
A Shout‑Out to Sam at Rotary Studio
Thank you, Sam, for your talent, patience, and for tuning in to Stratum Marquetry’s vision. If you’re considering a site overhaul that truly reflects your identity—and you want someone who’ll listen, advise, and co‑create—look no further than Rotary Studio.
Ready to explore our new site? Head over to www.stratummarquetry.co.uk tomorrow, and dive into the colours, textures, and stories of modern marquetry—brought to life the human way.
